Pod racing may be Kinect Star Wars best feature (preview)

If you can let go of the weighty expectations surrounding it, you can appreciate what Kinect Star Wars really is. It’s not an in-depth, laser-focused Star Wars game where players go through a complex campaign. The upcoming title is more of a jack of all trades, a project that features a Jedi Campaign in addition to several other diversions.

I had a chance to check it out this month at the Xbox 360 Spring Showcase and was surprised with game’s versatility rather than its story mode. The Jedi Campaign features combat where players take on the role of Jedi sent to Kashyyk to fight forces of the Trade Federation. In adventure that takes place after Episode 1 but before the Clone Wars, players will meet some familiar faces such as Yoda and Mace Windu and use gestures to do battle.

They can do moves such as a Force Push or a telekinetically grab trees or rocks and toss them at foes. Players can even kick foes. For those who play Star Wars: The Old Republic, jumping in the air lets players perform a Force Leap attack on foes. If that weren’t enough, there’s also a space flight, a landspeeder level. There’s even boss fights that players can check out as its own separate mode.

The Pod Racing mode is the most beautiful part of the game. This is what you should be excited for.

POD RACING IS VISUALLY IMPRESSIVE: From what I’ve seen, that was OK, but the mode that caught my eye was the Pod Racing. Visually, it was the most impressive, especially in 3D. It has a great sense of speed and coupled with the gesture controls of the Kinect, it almost feels like you’re racing in the dangerous vehicles. Players can even fend off hazards such as Wampa rats and avoid attacks from Tusken Raiders.

Each track has multiple short cuts and good level of detail. For example, on the Tatooine track, players can smash into moisture farms and that will leave water on the screen. (That’s a nice touch.) Like in other modes, the Pod Racing feature boasts a full career as players go through tracks in Bespin, Boonta Eve and Coruscant. It’s by far the best mode in the game, and it may be even worth the price of admission.

In the Jedi Campaign, players will go through some space flights.

IT’S LIKE THE OLD RAMPAGE GAME EXCEPT WITH RANCORS: Although the Galactic Dance Off caught my attention (It sounds like a Just Dance clone using Star Wars characters), the other minigame that stood out was the Rancor Rampage. It puts players in the role of the giant creature made famous when it tried to chow down on Luke in Return of the Jedi. They go through several towns such as Mos Eisley destroying everything in their path and getting points. As their path of rampage continues, players will face fiercer obstacles and enemies such as AT-AT walkers and TIE fighters.

As with pod racing, the controls for this is done via gesture controls and it seems to work well. The control scheme is intuitive. Players can slash and whip around their arms to cause damage. They can jump in the air to cause a destructive shock wave. Aside from Tatooine, the Rancor Rampage will also have levels on Naboo. (Maybe you can take down Jar Jar.) In addition, there are different species of Rancors in each level, including larger bulls and ones with wings.

Just as long as players set their expectations to the appropriate level, Kinect Star Wars may be a good game. It just depends on how the gesture control works, but players can find out for themselves when Kinect Star Wars is released in April 3.